Don't Leave a Solar Powered Watch in the Dark and Is the Wrong Backlight A Deal Breaker?

It's a common question these days. "How long can you leave a solar powered watch in a dark drawer and still expect it to be running?" Casio will often give you the answer in the manuals for their Tough Solar products. It could be three months, six months or even as long as ten months. But I'm here to say that I don't understand the question. Why would someone want a solar powered watch and then plan to keep it stored long-term in a dark place?
The other thing which some folks seem to be saying a lot lately is that they don't like the LED backlights on Casio watches and they prefer the older-style Electro-luminescent backlights. I can understand having a preference. But I don't understand how the type of backlight can be a definitive deal-breaker, as some folks are prone to declare.

[@michaelkaliski7651]

Casio supply their solar watches in lightproof containers and there is no telling how long the watch will sit in a warehouse. With power saving on, the watches will keep time up to 19 months in complete darkness from fully charged to empty. Generally speaking exposure to 5-10 minutes of direct sunlight a day is enough to keep the battery fully charged. If the battery becomes fully discharged, about a week of exposure to sunlight all day every day will restore the battery.

[@peteygnyc]

A lot quicker than that in direct sunlight...

[@Xpurple]

Thank you for the reminder to put one of my watches in the sun! Things brings up a story. I really wanted a King, but didn't want to pay full price. So, I found one very cheap on eBay that was dead. I opened the box at the post office and set the watch on my dash for the drive home. As you can imagine, it was working by the time I got home...

[@RickSpaan]

Really like your honest and down to earth reviews! Thanks! Keep up the good work!

[@964tractorboy]

Love the rant Greg. Personally I /do/ insist on Multi-Band 6 /and/ Tough Solar for my Casio, but it's fine if someone else doesn't. I can't remember the last time I used the backlight in anger...

[@MacroPheliac]

As someone with a type of OCD who does prefer EL at the moment I wanted to give my two cents on the backlight situation.. The future of LEDs for their longevity and battery savings can't be denied, and in general function should be priority over fashion; but people are still welcome to have tastes. I feel like it's an engineering challenge that Casio could overcome using diffusers, different polarizers, or more careful placement of the LED's. If you show someone an older watch with an EL backlight and how uniform it is, then show them a newer more expensive watch with an LED that has bright spots and is less uniform at various angles, you can't fault them for assuming it might be a lesser quality product, which makes it become a hard sell. And on top of that, if you want the newest modules and their benefits, for some it is gonna be hard to get over a small quirk like that. It is nitpicky, it is OCD. I'm not an engineer or designer, but I get the feeling that the crew at Casio were tasked with changing to different lighting within the same form factors, and implementing the LEDs in a way that works well is anything but trivial and might require total internal redesigns or entirely new models to be conceived, which is timely and expensive for production with any amount of retooling; and most especially in a world where smart watches own the majority market share. Time will tell, and we should all keep an open mind about these things and consider what might be going on at Casio. Ones nitpicky tastes should not lead them to rule out a product as a whole over one feature. Thanks for what you do and your content Greg!

[@bradleycarpo3372]

I enjoy your honest no nonsense opinions. Great video thank you.

[@steampang2559]

Great video! Finally someone on KZbin said what's on my mind!

[@james4flix925]

Hi Greg i have two G-Shocks solar watches, i'm in the UK and the winter months are not good for these watches, i have kept one (GST B300SD) in the window since about September so over 5 months now and it doesn't go above half charge, the other one (GR B100) i charge up using an LED torch but it only charges half way and only lasts about a month or so when away from light. I love the functions of both of these watches but the solar is a disappointment, the only time i got full charge is back in the summer on the B300, i bought the B100 in winter, it's a good watch overall but the 'countdown to next alarm' is an annoying feature as it can be confusing when on the LCD display and it is a waste of space on the little sub dial. As for type LCD display it has to be the positive type for me , i just can't see the negative displays to well. I do love the Bluetooth connect feature on both watches as it makes setting up so easy, and the Time Set feature is much more useful than radio atomic time setting as there are many mobile phone transmitters. The LED backlight is the best light i have seen on watch and the luminescence is just great on both watches, i have a small ultraviolet torch which really charges up the lume in just seconds and it lasts the night as i kept the B100 by my bed. Thank you Greg for your detailed watch reviews and general horology topics i have found them really helpful.

[@shraymehta3502]

Very well done. I have a Casio eqs 930. Always keep it at high charge. This is the best tech. Thank you for your inputs

[@user-zs9ek1bx5z]

Just Sharing: 🙂 I stored some of my Casio and Seiko solar watches in the dark... after more than 2 yrs (this pandemic)... I tried to recharge these solar watches and hoping the batteries remained okay... GLAD my Seiko and Casio solar watches are working well 😊❤ Note: some of this watches are nearly or more than 10yrs to me 😊

[@gusthesailor4885]

I think of my solar powered watches as flowers and you know what.. flowers need light to bloom So the boxes containing my solar watches have a transparent face and every day they take advantage of the light and are very happy 😄

[@reggaespiritdance]

Thanks for your insights

[@burnikshrapnel]

Awesome points, man!

[@Ta_nuz]

Always enthusiastic! Great!!

[@fubaralakbar6800]

I keep my Citizen Eco-Drive in an open-top box when not using it. As for backlights, as long as I can see them when I need to, I'm happy. I even thought the F-91W backlight was okay.

[@plantemichel]

Nice video Greg 😃

[@XxXHardcoreshredderxXXxxxxxxxx]

I like the backlights on the Bluetooth gwb series :)

[@MajesticRidez]

So weird I just started watching you and then this video I watched it to I had a tough solar threw it in a draw for 3 years a dark draw I never open yesterday I pulled it out fixed the band and it didn’t come on I thought ah man the battery is dead 3 hours later after leaving it in a window it came on it’s working just fine

[@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp]

I neglected a whole bunch of my solar powered Casio's which were kept in storage for just about three years. Most were as flat as a pancake, however to my surprise, one G-steel (GST-W110D) a couple of 5600's (GW-M5600) and a Gulfmaster (GWN-1000) all woke up with medium power still left in them. I consider that to be an extreme case, but incredible nonetheless. I gave them all a thorough sunbathing session for a week and now they are all on the shelf looking happy again.

[@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp]

Also to add, of the bunch, one did suffer from not being able to fully reach full continuously, this was caused by the rechargeable lithium cell failing to reach above 2.3 volts. This can be mitigated by (under controlled conditions) removing the battery and charging it externally. Once done the watch performed as new. Usual disclaimer- unless you have a workshop, with the appropriate equipment to do so I would not entirely recommend this course of action, but I'm just saying that it is technically possible to save the battery after a deep discharge. On a secondary note, the reason we keep a lot of our G-Shocks in the dark, is the UV deteriorates the elasto-polymers in the resin parts.

[@DinghTech]

Hey Greg, I agree with you about the solar-powered and the backlight. I put all solar watches in 1 box, so easy for me to monitor the power level and exposed to light when necessary. Anyway you forgot 1 more point.... the auto backlight (BL). For some buyer, if the model doesn't have auto BL, they won't buy it. I never turn it on even for solar-powered G-Shock. For me as long I can see the time shown at night, why bother to enable the auto BL and there is a button to press if in total darkness.

[@masiosareiii4915]

The only dealbreaker on backlight for me is in the AWG-M100 and the GAW-100, huge difference.

[@dazzlerjohnwatchman8215]

I just purchased a tough solar watch which is a combo digital analogue design. It had been on display at a store for some time and I purchased it for 50% off the price. A bargain! However I noticed the luminance of the hands is good but the time markets not so. Once we get a sunny day I will try giving it a suntan to get it's glow back. Oh and by the way Greg my green plastic Casio Royale has by far the loudest alarm sound of all there watches.

[@AndyCarter-db4gt]

Your points are well made and far as atomic time keeping is cocerned, be it a watch or a clock, you only really need one.

[@wennonacobrado6631]

I overlooked that the watch is a silar powered i kept it in dark 😢 what to do to work and ticking again ?

[@keithramsay3340]

ive a casio edifice i forgot that it was covered up by mistake and I'm now in to around 6 weeks and its still saying not fully charged I'm in Scotland so don't really get much sun to charge it so have just bought a uv torch hoping this might work

[@lilmonstertrinidad7627]

Hey bro.. i left my tough solar watch in a box due to the band damage and when i took it out the screen was blank not turning on but the arrow blinking at the charge.. left it out in the sunlight for 2 days and still nothing.. is something wrong or it just needs more time to charge... gshock mtgm900da... thanks in advance for your advice...

[@CUSTODIAN70]

Hi Greg,solar watches have a ''sleep'' function when the are left in the dark.As for electroluminence,its an open market for free people,it's a matter of preference.Take care yourself,stay safe.

[@rauldeandrade]

With multi band 6 or bluetooth, does it even matter? Unless you're going to pick the watch after 3 years in the middle of the night, I think it's more of a benchmark than anything else. But we like to know nonetheless. I have a bunch of watches and most are stored in a drawer or a box. It's like having a land rover for the city. You don't need it to rock crawl, but you want to know it's there. Human nature I guess. We're most definitely edging on OCD. For you, saying it's a deal breaker is a deal breaker lol. People like to complain about everything because we all love to have an opinion and the smaller the thing the more others notice the OCD. Thanks for the video. I think you're doing a fantastic job and this video definitely deserves a subscribe.

[@bereadyeveryday6764]

I have a Casio AQS810W that ended up in a drawer for over a year. It took it almost a week of constant sunlight to recharge. Time will tell how much longer it will last.

[@legofanatic375]

Ok, for me and many others, we need to know abt tough solar watches and their life span because we are buying them off other people. If the other person had it for years and now we are buying it, I’d like to know abt the battery life span.

[@bradleycarpo3372]

I tend to use available light sources at night to read my multi band 6 watch. If, I am in absolute dark then I use my back light. That way I save both the battery and the light longevity.

[@faizalstormtrooper]

I just bought GW B5600MG-1DR. Old model. When unboxing the watch indicator blinking LOW. Need to charge at sun light at least 2 3 hours I think. Sorry for my bad english.

[@lulul]

so, i bought my brother a solar watch so he won't have to change any more batteries.. i got him the pulsar PX3181X1 which was at the time the cheapest solar analog watch.. he keeps it in a drawer in the dark because it's his "good" watch.. i explained him many times that it will stop working for good if he keeps it like that.. he won't leave it on a shelf because someone might steal it and he only wears it on special occasions like birthday celebrations and holidays.. i'm glad he likes it but i wish he didn't and just wear it all the time as it's meant to..

[@waleedhassan798]

Well said

[@Ericdagreat]

Buy a cheap led desk lamp at the Home Depot for $14. They are around 400 to 600 likens if I remember correctly. I point the light downward towards my solar watches, and charged them completely, and keeps them nice and charged all year round. Turn the lamp on anytime, and leave it on for as much as you want. I never leave my solar watches by any window. That’s a bad move, because the heat create pressure inside the watch, and can damage everything. If you leave a regular analog watch out in sunlight, the pressure from the heat causes the crystal to pop off.

[@markthibault8579]

I found that with the A.EL enabled on my GW-M5610, it would run the battery down to medium level a lot. Disabling A.EL allows it to stay at high level. I wonder if the new U variant with the LED would save enough energy for the battery to stay at high level.

[@loganholmberg2295]

It does. The new led tech uses less energy.

[@zygote8888]

​@@loganholmberg2295I've been using New LED backlight Casio for a month now on auto LT and it has remained on high only once it went down to medium but it was after I got the watch was using all the functions and learning and getting used to all the features and functions now I don't need to so it's stable usage and battery is staying on high

[@wennonacobrado6631]

Fossil solar power watch has stop i put it already ti sunlight 😢 and still not working

[@WR3ND]

I swapped out a negative Tough Solar LCD for a positive, and the negative one is being stored away for now. It looked interesting, but wasn't as practical for me to see the time, and also meant I was needing to use the LED more often.

[@geopapa80]

Greg I think you could try a ga2100 and make a review of it

[@MarcinWiesniakQuantum]

Battery uses chemical reaction to keep voltage at the expense of current. A capacitor just accumulates charge as voltage grows. There were batteryless Casio models running on caps

[@fumetsuresearch]

True lol why get a solar watch the put it in the dark? G-Shock watches even come with a stand to simply put the watch on on your dresser or somewhere where light would hit it daily (doesn't have to be direct sunlight), when you don't wear it.

[@tinaliebe5118]

Hi Greg do you know when the 40th anniversary G-Shock will be released I am looking at getting my first one thinking of waiting till 40th anniversary after a Square model I also required Seiko sapphire 100 water resistant I think 1990s model is that good watch I no nothing about watches but I love them thanks for your reviews it’s helping me by my first G-Shock cheers Greg

[@GoodTimekeeper]

I don’t know what their plans are at Casio but I think a good resource would be G-Central.com so if you check their home page two or three times a week you should find out about their 40th anniversary plans as soon as they are announced.

[@user-sx7md4qd5h]

I have new Seiko Prospex solar watch arni when I sleep no light kkin my room. The watch is dead..

[@John-P]

Hi Greg I have a Casio AL-190W it says it's batteryless so I presume it uses a capacitor, the downside is it only last's about 12 days from full charge, Casio stopped production in 2014...stay safe

[@zygote8888]

Correct batteryless uses capacitor

[@spankyharland9845]

I keep my solar powered units in a clear plexiglass container near the window- do you know if the Casio Lineage watch shuts down during the night, I have noticed, usually in the morning when I pick up my Casio Lineage and expose it to light, the second hand and display turn on- is this an automatic function ?

[@zygote8888]

Yes if you've turned on Power saving mode PS than it will turn off display at night with darkness and zero movement, I've to shake it a little sometimes to let it know hey it's morning we've to go to work hahahaha

[@zygote8888]

Yes if you've turned on Power saving mode PS than it will turn off display at night with darkness and zero movement, I've to shake it a little sometimes to let it know hey it's morning we've to go to work hahahaha

[@eclectic_gamer]

any light on a watch as long as it allows you to read the time is perfectly acceptable, where I draw the line is when they dont, like for example GA-100-1A4ER has a useless backlight at least mine did its almost impossible to see the hour hand they should either change the colour of the LED or if possible have a backlit on the LCD sections.

[@loganholmberg2295]

A think the super luminator turns some people off cause its too bright and prefer the softglow blacklight? leds like you get on say a Prw-6600 or the old luminanceance tech. Basically the super led is not "tacti-cool" as it would give away your position. 😅😅 Frankly I think the super led is great in a travel watch as you can use it as a pseudo flashlight in a dark hotel room.

[@owlsnestt]

I just find the LED harsher on the eyes than EL backlight when checking the time with dark adjusted eyes. I'm not worried about giving my position away, I'm just not trying to be blinded when I wake up to pee. (Casio - how about two LED brightness levels rather than two duration settings?)

[@loganholmberg2295]

I store my solar watches on a up right jelery tube in my bed room window(second story). 😅😅That being said Id love if someone made an led watch box that help 12 or so watches. Like a watch winder but for my solar watches.

[@hankfan89ify]

There is a guy selling them on ebay but they are $250+

[@FiremanFrach]

I work 24 hour shifts so I leave my g shock tough solars in the window while I’m gone so they get the atomic time every night. They get sun exposure most of the day. Is it healthy to leave them exposed for that long?

[@GoodTimekeeper]

I would avoid leaving a watch exposed to direct sunlight for an extended time. Make sure it isn’t getting hot. It doesn’t need that much light to stay fully charged.

[@FiremanFrach]

@@GoodTimekeeper OK thanks for replying. The watch doesn't get hot, but it won't get atomic time for the days I'm at work. The last time it took forever to get a manual signal for the Rangeman if I didn't leave it in the window. No biggie.

[@rainbowpony425]

my first Casio in 1984 was solar, I replaced the battery somewhere and it was never the same. I think the jeweler put in the wrong battery. the middle digit wasn't working. So have you ever replaced a battery in a solar watch? How much was it? a regular replacement battery is 10-15 dollars. Not so happy about the waveceptor. It never updated the time zone when I was in Taiwan, lucky it was 12 hour difference. I'm now looking for a Citizen eco drive atomic Moon phase watch. Yes more expensive about $517 to my Casio $89 and $180. I tried a G-Shock but it was too big on my wrist. Anyway, as for the light and the alarms, if you don't use it, the watch should last longer. I think I bought more Casio's than any other watch. Not all of them lasted. Anyway again, I don't think I would buy a Casio if they were expensive.

[@rambo8218]

My Casio gwg1000 tough solar mudmaster has a sleep mode function when it's left idol in the dark.

[@GoodTimekeeper]

I suppose I consider that sleep mode to be a short-term help overnight and not really meant to sustain a months-long state of darkness.

[@rambo8218]

@@GoodTimekeeper And you'd be wrong .. that watch is in my gun cabinet for 5 months at total darkness and soo as it hits light it "wakes up" automatically with an high battery.

[@Fa85Mu]

I put my tough solar watches with PS mode in the drawer for weeks and the battery still on H

[@Daniel-kn3dk]

Id like Greg would have eight arms to wear eight watches at te same time.

[@joshuabriggs7114]

Stop being so logical Greg! Lol! Fine points you've made here :)

[@thewishmastur]

It is normal to wear two watches?

[@GoodTimekeeper]

No, I suppose it isn’t. I got into the habit while I was working in a warehouse and sometimes my hands were full, so it was good to be able to see the time on either wrist. It’s still useful when I do my current work in broadcasting and my hands are full. Often, I need to coordinate with live broadcasting moments and I really do need to know the correct time, right down to the second. And I also like to wear more than one watch because my collection is so numerous.

[@cerealfibre6938]

I believe you can use the sun as a battery for a tough solar, Greg.

[@zygote8888]

Sun is the charger through solar panel to charge the battery

[@Costinmusca]

If it happens that the first and/or only experience with an LED backlight watch is one of the poor implementations of one side LED coupled with a poor light diffuser underneath the display, like the upgraded GW-M5610U for example, no wonder you get to hate LED backlights.. But that is all it is, a poor LED implementation on a specific model or models. Should your first LED backlit watch be one of the GW-B5600 BT models, that has a perfect LED implementation, more efficient and better looking than any EL, with a more crisp LCD on top of that, than your opinion would differ heavily. Also, those cells are batteries.. rechargeable, special chemistry, but still rechargeable cells nonetheless.. batteries.. NOT capacitors. Capacitors are one thing and batteries are a different thing altogether. Batteries do have a nominal capacity, but that does not have anything to do with them being capacitors. Super-Capacitors can be used in various circumstances as batteries, but this is not those applications.

[@alaththar819]

indeed. battery are not capacitor. battery discharge slow. a capacitor discharge instantly. a battery affected by low temperature, while capacitor does not. that is huge difference.

[@Luebke2773]

I like the LED in my 5610u. Absolut perfect to read in the dark.

[@911_dan2]

Either illumination works for me. But negative display is deal breaker. I won't buy one. But i don't think any less of people who do like them.

[@GoodTimekeeper]

Agreed. I might still be persuaded to get more negative LCD watches but given a choice I will choose positive.

[@911_dan2]

I tried. Even the MIP displays couldn't persuade me

[@valeriiusa5543]

I am trying to figure out why the author has 2 watches all the time ? Is it obsession? Don’t get me wrong I am just curious.

[@DailyBongHits]

Do you regularly wear two wrist-watches, or is that just for the video?

[@GoodTimekeeper]

I have a lot of watches now and, yes, I usually wear two at a time these days. Otherwise I feel like some of them would be neglected. Also, one of these days someone will see me at a Walmart store and recognize me from KZbin and they’ll think I’m a big phony if I’m only wearing one watch.

[@DinghTech]

@@GoodTimekeeper Sometime I do wear in both hands. If I wear 1 watch each day, that's mean I only wear 4 times per year for each watch I have right now.

[@aryanaryanaryan]

I would like the video in romanian please 😀 joking And a very helpfull Video. Thanks

[@terrydanks]

Actually can not an argument be made that this whole watch collecting thing is a manifestation of OCD all by itself? :) My bugbear, which will be wildly unpopular here, is mechanicals. Complex. Delicate. Require winding (or wearing if "automatic.") Tend to be expensive. Servicing will be required eventually. And the greatest insult of all . . . they keep lousy time compared to the cheapest quartz! If a preference for mechanical watches, in the face of all these negatives, isn't a form of OCD, nothing is! And yet, it seems many/most? collectors are heavily into "mechanical only." All this said, virtually all hobbies get carried to extremes by some folks. While I personally am extremely unlikely to ever buy any mechanical watch, I do try to keep my late father's watch from the 1960's going by wearing it once in a while. But for me, being mechanical is a "deal breaker" in watches.

[@carllange3950]

Some people would probably be better off not getting solar watches. This goes for pets and house plants too.

[@cedarcanoe]

You buy them new dark in a box. They have been sitting there for 6-12 months.

[@GoodTimekeeper]

As far as I know, the problem is that if you let the power drain to very low levels over and over again it shortens the overall life of the battery. But if it’s drained one time between being manufactured and being purchased that isn’t a pattern of drain cycles.

[@damyr]

I couldn't be bothered to watch the video, and I have a question... For how much time my solar powered G-shock can stay without sunlight before it drains its capacity to the end? I suppose it's about month or two, but I've never found a proper info. Thx in advance.

[@PickAnyNameButMine]

@damyr If you had put the model of your watch it would have been easy to answer, without it ‘I can only guess’ because it depends on the tough solar powered watch you have. It can be anywhere from 4 to 5 months to as much as 20 to 24 months. Go to the main Casio website and look for the manual for your watch by putting in the 4 numbers that are on the back of every single Casio watch. Then either download the module manual for your watch or read it on the screen, and it will tell you how long your battery will last when kept in the dark. Hope that helps.

[@seliandros]

If a chemical reaction takes place it's a battery.

[@MarkM58]

Common sense isn't so common anymore.

[@180ballybollock]

So you have a light on all night then,load of bollocks

[@chpappis]

Please spend 5 minutes and educate yourself about capacitors and batteries from Wikipedia. Casio watches have batteries. So simple.

[@ADubTheGrizzy]

Most Casio watches have batteries, some solar models use a capacitor instead of a battery. "Please spend 5 mins to educate yourself. So simple."

[@chpappis]

@@ADubTheGrizzy please mention which models have a capacitor so i can learn

[@ADubTheGrizzy]

@@chpappis hdd-s100, AL-180MVV, for example.

[@chpappis]

@@ADubTheGrizzy these watches have capacitor operating time of 14 days. That cannot be compared with at least 6 months of battery watch. In the video Greg seems to be confused about the watches he is mentioning and he is saying that maybe the two terms are interchangeable. Which they are not. I think that when anyone talks about casio solar watches he is reffering to at least 3 or 6 months of battery. These watches you are referencing are the absolut minority. Is it true there are only 2 variants with capacitor in the whole casio lineup ?

[@ADubTheGrizzy]

@@chpappis so you admit that you were wrong, and you have no idea what you're talkin about. Spend 5 minutes to learn before you spread misinformation

[@squirelova1815]

You ever been in a Turkish prison Greg?